What Must Be Forgotten: The Survival of Yiddish in Zionist Palestine

"As Zionism took root in Palestine, European Yiddish was eclipsed by the dominant Hebrew context. A complex relationship between cultural politics and Jewish writing ensued that paved the way for modern Israeli culture. Yael Chaver reveals a previously unrecognized, alternative literature that flourished vigorously but without legitimacy." "Because of the flexibility…
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Overview

"As Zionism took root in Palestine, European Yiddish was eclipsed by the dominant Hebrew context. A complex relationship between cultural politics and Jewish writing ensued that paved the way for modern Israeli culture. Yael Chaver reveals a previously unrecognized, alternative literature that flourished vigorously but without legitimacy." "Because of the flexibility of Yiddish, authors in Israel were able to give voice to minority members of the Yishuv. The use of Yiddish persisted for many years - in conversation, in newspapers, and in songs." Using rare archival material and personal interviews, What Must Be Forgotten unearths dimensions largely neglected in mainstream books on Yiddish and Hebrew studies.

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Editorial Reviews

Choice

"This is a story worth telling, and Chaver may be the most qualified scholar in the world to tell it."

Shofar

"To tell the story of loss is to create presence. This seems to be the cardinal rule behind Yael Chaver�s lovingly rendered world of Yiddish letters in the Yishuv. What Must Be Forgotten is a beautiful and important book, uncovering and resuscitating a part of Yishuv experience which was, as the author demonstrates, a more essential part of life than mainstream historiography would have us believe."